Toronto stocks higher on strength of gold, U.S. stocks mixed

BNN Bloomberg’s closing bell update: June 14, 2018

Canada's main stock index made gains Thursday, boosted by strength in the gold sector as the price of the commodity gained seven dollars.

The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 63.14 points to 16,328.96.

Shares in the gold sector were the best performing of the day, gaining on average 1.74 per cent of their worth. That rise came as the August gold contract gained US$7.00 to US$1,308.30 an ounce.

The TSX was not up on any major headlines, said Allan Small, a senior investment adviser at HollisWealth, noting the recent spate of major headlines, including the historic U.S. and North Korea summit, the G7 meeting and U.S. President Donald Trump's tweets attacking Canada.

"I think now what's left is everyone trying to pick up the pieces and trying to figure out (these) trade issues. And, I think, right now, that's what's really in the minds of investors, what's going on, on the trade front," he said.

South of the border, markets were mixed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.89 points to 25,175.31. The S&P 500 index rose 6.86 points to 2,782.49 and the Nasdaq composite index moved up 65.34 points to 7,761.04, a record high.

The Canadian dollar averaged 76.62 cents US, down 0.37 of a US cent.

Elsewhere in commodities, the July crude contract advanced 25 cents to US$66.89 per barrel and the July natural gas contract stayed relatively unchanged at about US$2.97 per mmBTU. The July copper contract shed about three cents to US$3.22 a pound.

Hydro One took the wraps off its new board of directors Tuesday morning, a little more than a month after Ontario Premier Doug Ford got his way when CEO Mayo Schmidt retired and the entire board resigned en masse.

Ontario’s finance minister said the province will be ready with “robust supply” when recreational cannabis becomes legal on Oct. 17, but there’s still a lot left of work to be done before it can sell cannabis in stores.